Potato slicer



Y Sept. 15, 1936. J. RAYMALEY' z 0-54,231

POTATO SLICER Filed Aug. le, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1V Y ,4/ lj ,7 9 72,51r ,la/l" ATTORNEYS Sept,"15,'1936. J, RAY'MALEY 2,054,231

- PoTATo SLICER v Filed Aug. 1s, 1954 '2 sheets-sheebz INVENTOR Patented Sept. 15, 1936 POTATO SLICER John Raymaley, Jersey City, N. J., assigner of one-half to Charles y City, N. J.

Application August 18,

11 claims.

This invention relates to a slicing device of the type wherein the slicing operation is performed by forcing the matter to be sliced against a gang of cutting elements, the slices passing out between said elements. More particularly, the invention relates to such a device designed for slicing cooked potatoes to make potato salad.

Heretofore a serious defect in such devices has been that they permitted, or caused, the slices to come together and cohere after passing the cutting elements. This imposed the additional labor of manually separating the slices. The delay consequent to this additional labor also allowed the slices to cool whereas it is often desirable in making salad that the slices be warm, for better absorption of spices or other salad ingredients.

Important objects of the invention are, to provide a more efficient slicing device of said type; to provide such a device designed to ensure discharge of the slices in a separated and intact state; and to provide a slicing element of irnproved design for such a device.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the slicing device;

Fig. 2 a top plan view of the device, with the swivelled presser member swung clear of the hop- Per;

Fig. 3 an enlarged section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 a perspective viewof one of the slicing knives;

Fig. 6 a perspective View of a slicing element of modified form; and

Fig. 7 an enlarged transverse section on the line 'l-l of Fig. 6.

The slicing device has a supporting structure including, in the present instance, a pair of laterally spaced metal straps or bars I bent to form feet at their ends and to form their medial lengths into platform bars 2, elevated to receive therebeneath a pan P or other receptacle for the sliced potatoes. Rigid angle irons 3 are disposed on the bars 2 in parallel relation transversely of said bars and are bolted thereto, as at Shorter angle irons 5 are rigidly secured to the angle irons 3 and are disposed to form parallel horizontal shelves or ledges 6 projecting inward. Said ledges form supports for the body of the slicing device.

The body of the device includes a strong, rigid metal frame of rectangular form. Said frame is formedby at parallel side bars 'I and transverse A. Buckenmaier, Jersey 1934, Serial No. 740,416

parallel angle bars 8 and 9 rigidly secured to the bars 1. Bar 8 has an upstanding flange portion 8e formed with a longitudinal series of vertical slots I spaced according to the desired spacing of the slicing knives. Adjacent and parallel to the bar 9 there is another angle bar II with its Aend. portions slidably supported on the flat bars l. Said bar II also has an upstanding flange portion Ila formed with series of vertical slots I2 similar to the lslots I0 and registering therewith across the frame. Bar II is slidably held to the bars 'I by screws I3 having heads to engage the under faces of bars l, and Shanks projecting through slots I4 in the bars 'I and screwed into the bar II. Bar II is slidably adjustable with reference to the bar 8 by screw means. The latter include a row of stud screws I5 anchored by screw threads or other means to the flange bar Il and projecting outward through apertures I6 in the adjacent bar 9. Beyond the bar 9 said stud screws have nuts Il screwed on them to bear against the outer face of bar 9. This adjusting means is for the purpose of tensioning the slicing knives, to be described.

slicing knives I8 of improved design are provided. Each knife, in the form thereof shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, is madeof a thin, flat metal sheet of uniform thickness. The knife includes a flat strip portion I9. with a straight lon-v gitudinal upper edge 20 forming the cutting edge of the knife. At its opposite ends said strip has apertures 2l adapting the knife to be anchored to place a longitudinal tension thereon. Integrally formed with the strips I9 there is a comb-- like curtain portion or web 22 of the knife extending transversely rearward with referenee to the cutting edge, that is, downward in the present instance. Said curtain portion terminates short of the apertured ends of the strip'l9 and its depth is preferably much greater than that of the strip. It has a row of vertical slots 23 dividing the curtain into a row of spring fingers 24 rather freely flexible laterally. The slots extend from the lower edge of the curtain upward substantially the full depth of the curtain.

In mounting the knives, wire rods 25 are inserted through the knife apertures 2l, and the opposite end portions of the knives are inserted downward into the slots I0 and I2 of the frame flanges ila and IIa respectively. The rods 25 are disposed outside of said flanges and are seated in grooves in the flanges. Thereby the knives are anchored at their opposite ends to said flanges and, by screwing up the nuts I'I bar II is pulled outward and the knives are placed under tension along a line running closely along their cutting edges to render said edges substantially rigid. Below said line, however, the comb-like curtains are rather freely flexible and resilient.

A hopper is provided to retain potatoes, or other articles or matter to be sliced, directly over the knives. The hopper is formed ofstiff sheet metal plates including a pair of parallel plates 26 and a pair of parallel plates 21 disposed transversely of the plates 26 at the ends'of the latter. The plates 26 and 21 have their adjacent end margins secured together through angle corner strips 28. The lower ends of said strips rest upon the upper faces of the frame bars 1 and form rests for the hopper, andthe lower'edgesof the sides 26 of the hopper terminate substantially in the plane of the lower ends of said angle strips. The sides 21, however, extend downward to a plane below that of the lower edges of the knife curtains and they fit rather snugly against the inner edges of the frame bars 1. To clear the Vknives Vthe side plates 26 are slotted at their lower edges, as at 29. Thus there is a slip joint connection between the hopper and the knifesupporting frame. 'I'he hopper is readily insertable downward into'position within the frame and is readily removable upward for access to the knives. e

To hold the assembled frame, knives and hopper on the supporting understructure, there are provided screws V3ll'with shanks to project upward through apertures in the supporting f flanges 6 and screw into the bars 1 and secure the latterV to flanges 6. Said screws have elongated heads which may be reached conveniently from beneath the platform bars 2. Y

A cushion presser member is provided to reciprocate within the hopper and force the potatoes down upon the slicing knives. Said member includes, a flat rigid upper plate 3l, a thick cushion lower plate or sheet 32, preferably of sponge rubber, and an intermediate plate or sheet 33y of less compressible rubber. 'Ihe latter sheet is riveted to the metal plate and is cemented or vulcanized to the cushion sheet 32.

. To depress the presser member there is an operating member 34 in the form of a flat, rigid, elongated plate with narrow handle ends 35. Between said operating member and the presser member there is a yieldable, resilient thrust connection. The latter includes posts 36 in rectangular arrangement on the plate 3l of the presser member and projecting upward through apertures in the operating member surrounded by tubular extensions or bosses. Coiled compression springs 31 surround said posts between said bosses and the plate 3| Yand tend to thrust'the presser member downward, away from the operating member. Nuts 38 screwed on the upper ends of said posts limit said downward thrust.

The operating member 34 is supported and guided by a pair of standards 39 and 40 rigid on the angle bars 3 of the supporting structure; Standard 39 extends upward through a tubular bearing 4I'on the member 34 and standard 40 extends upward into a tubular bearing 42 on said member. At its upper end standard 39 has a stop shoulder 43 to limit upward movement of the member 34, and the lower end of the bearing 42 is cut awayeat one side, the remainder of said Y end forming a lateral stop 44. The comparative heights of the two standards are such that when the upward movementof the member 34 is limited by stop 43 the upper end of standard '40 will be opposite thecut-out at the lower end of bearing 42. The member 34 is then free to swivel about the standard 39 to the position indicated in Fig. 2, where it is clear of the hopper. Encircling the standard 39 there is a compression spring 45 to hold the presser member in its uppermost position. The upper end of said spring bears against the lower end of bearing 4I and its lower end bears against a collar 46 on the standard. Said collar is keyed to the standard and it is adjustable therealong and provided with a set screw to lock it in its adjustments. The spring 45 yieldably resists depression of the operating member, and the collar 46 is preferably so adjusted as to stop depression of said member when the cushion facing of the presser member reaches the slicing knives.

In operating the device for slicing potatoes the operating member 34 is swung aside to the positionV shown in Fig. 2 and the hopper is charged with hot or warm boiled potatoes of a suitable size for potato salad. Preferably the hopper is of a depth to surround only one layer of potatoes of the proper size. The operating member 34 is then swung around until the stop 44 contacts the upper end of the standard 40. This registers the presser member or plunger with theY hopper. Then the handles 35 are grasped and the member 34 is pressed downward, against the resistance of spring 45, to press the plunger against the potatoes, force the latter against the knife'edges to slice them, and force the slices between the deep knives. The soft plunger and the yieldable thrust connections between member 34 and the plunger prevent crushing of the potatoes. When another batch of potatoes is sliced their slices will force those of the first batch out from between the knives -and discharge them ina separated condition.

The knives with their deep pendent curtain portions ensure separation of the slices before discharge. The total depth of the knives preferably exceeds the diameter of the potatoes.v Thereby the slices are prevented from coming together below the cutting edges and consequently are prevented from becoming stuck together by the starchy, adhesive juice of the potato. The lateral yieldability of the knife curtains reduces the resistance offered by friction'and suction to the passage of the slices between the deep knives and thereby prevents crushing of the slices between the knives. The slotting of the curtains'or webs permits them to yield at points therealong without yielding bodily and possibly crowding slices in the spaces between the next adjacent knives. The slices are discharged from the device separated and intact and they may be made into salad immediately, while theyare still warm and in proper condition to receive spices and other salad ingredients.

A modified form of the slicing element is shown in Figs. 6 and '7; Here a wire bead 41 forms the cutting portion of the element. YIntegrally formed Vwith said bead, or intimately secured thereto, there is a* thin, depending slice-separating curtain web 48. The latter has a longitudinal series of slots 49 extending from its lower edge upward for the major portion of the web depth and dividing the web into spring fingers 49. Said fingers are freely yieldable laterally. 'I'he wireY 41 extends beyond the opposite ends of the curtain web and has loops 50 for anchorage to the tensioning rods 25, whereby upon tensioning shift of one of said rods, as previously described, a gang of the slicing elements may be tensioned. The form of tension anchorage may be varied, however. The thickness of the curtain web ispreferably materially less than that of the cutting bead, to aiford a desired clearance for the slices. For example, the diameter or thickness of the bead may be one one-hundredth of an inch and the thickness of the web may be four onethousandths of an inch. Preferably the depth of the web materially exceeds the diameter of the potatoes to be sliced. The bead vand web may be made of any suitable metal. i

What I claim is:

l. A slicing device comprising a plurality of substantially parallel slicing elements having cutting edges directed forwardly in the same direction to receive against them the matter to be sliced, and having laterally yieldable slice-separating curtain portions extending transversely rearward from the cutting edges and between and past which the slices are forceable with lateral yield of the curtain portions to prevent crushing of the slices, said curtain portions having a series of transverse slots extending from their rear edges forward toward the cutting edges.

2. A slicing device comprising a plurality of substantially parallel slicing elements having cutting edges directed forwardly in the same direction to receive against them the matter to be sliced, means holding said elements under tension on a line along their cutting edges to render the edges substantially rigid, the elements having slice-separating, laterally exible comb-like curtain portions extending rearward from the cutting edges and from said line of tension and free at their rear edges and between and past which the slices are forceable with lateral yield of the curtain portions to prevent crushing of the slices.

3. A slicing element for the purpose set forth having a cutting edge and having apertures for anchoring it at its opposite ends to place it under longitudinal tension on a line along the cutting edge and having a laterally flexible and resilient comb-like slice-separating curtain portion extending transversely rearward from the cutting edge and from said line of tension, for the purpose set forth.

4. A slicing knife for the purpose set forth formed of a flat sheet of material defining a straight narrow strip portion adap-ted to cut along one longitudinal edge thereof and an integral flexible and resilient slice-separating curtain portion extending transversely rearward from the opposite edge of the strip portion and having a series of transverse slots extending from its rear edge forward toward said strip portion, said strip portion extending longitudinally beyond the opposite ends of the curtain portion and its extensions having apertures for anchoring to place the strip portion under longitudinal tension.

5. A slicing element for the purpose set forth having a wire-like longitudinal edge bead forming the cutting edge of the element and adapted to be anchored at its opposite ends to place it under tension and having a laterally flexible comb-like slice-separating curtain portion carried by and merging with the bead therealong and extending transversely rearward therefrom.

6. A slicing element for the purpose set forth having a wire-like longitudinal edge bead adapted to be anchored at its opposite ends to 4place it under tension and having a laterally yieldable slice-separating curtain portion integral with said bead therealong and extending rearward therefrom and of less thickness than the bead, for the purpose set forth.

7.'.'A'slicing device comprising a gang of slicing knives disposed in substantially parallel spaced relation with their cutting edges directed in the same direction to receive against them the matter to be sliced and each having a substantially flat slice-separating web extending transversely lrearward from its cutting edge and of comb-like form with the teeth thereof laterally flexible and resilient and extending the major portion of the depth ofthe knives and free at their rear ends, means holding theknivesrunder longitudinal Vtension along their cuttingY edges and entirely forward of said teeth, and means to retain the matter to be sliced in opposition to the cutting edges of the knives, the knives being adapted to receive the slices therebetween and permit the slices to be forced past them with lateral yield of the teeth to prevent crushing of the slices and permit discharge of the slices past the free ends of the teeth.

8. A slicing device comprising a gang of slicing knives disposed in substantially parallel spaced relation with their cutting edges directed in the same direction to receive against them the matter to be sliced and each formed with a substantially flat slice-separating web extending transversely rearward from its cutting edge and with a row of transverse slots spaced therealong and extending from the rear edge of the web for the major portion of the depth of the knife to define flat teeth therebetween, said teeth being laterally flexible and resilient and free at their rear ends, means holding the cutting edge portions only of the knives substantially rigid, and means to force the matter to be sliced against the cutting edges of the knives, the knives with their webs defining therebetween parallel' discharge passages for the slices elongated along the cutting edges of the knives and unobstructed throughout the effective length of the cutting edges and throughout the full depth of the webbed knives and through which passages the slices are forceable with lateral yield of the teeth to prevent crushing of the slices and permit discharge of the slices past the free ends of the teeth.

9. A slicing device comprising a gang of slicing knives disposed in substantially parallel spaced relation with their cutting edges directed in the same direction to receive against them the matter to be sliced and each having a wire-like longitudinal edge bead forming the cutting edge of the knife and anchored at its opposite ends to place it under tension and having also a substantially at slice-separating web extending transversely rearward from said bead and with a row of transverse slots spaced therealong and extending from the rear edge of the web for the major portion of the depth of the knife to define flat teeth, said teeth being laterally iiexible and resilient and free at their rear ends, and means to retain the matter toy be sliced in opposition to the cutting edges of the knives, the knives being adapted to receive the slices therebetween and permit the slices to be forced past them with lateral yield of the teeth to prevent crushing of the slices and permit discharge of the slices past the free ends of the teeth.

10. A slicing device comprising a plurality of slicing knives, arranged in substantially parallel spaced relation and with their cutting edges substantially rigid and directed in the same direca tion to receive against them the matter to be sliced, each knife having a freely flexible sliceseparating web extending transversely rearward from its substantially rigid cutting edge portion and of greater depth than the latter and free at its rear edge, the knives beingaadapted to receive the slices therebetween and permit. the slices to be forced past them with lateral yield of their slice-separating Webs to prevent crushing of the slices and permit discharge of the slices past the free edges of the webs, said Webs being laterally yielldable at points therealong without bOdly yield. Y Y Y 11. A slicing knife for employment with other similar knives for the purpose set forth having a narrow elongated cutting edge portion with means at opposite ends of said portion to anchor it for placing it under tension and rendering the cutting edge substantially rigid, said cutting edge portion having a freely flexible slice-separating web extending transversely rearward therefrom, of greater depth than said cutting edge portion and laterally yieldable at points therealong without bodily yield to prevent crushing of the slices between adjacent webs.

JOHN RAYMALEY. 

